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http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html

Gotta love Illinois politics...

Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody

December 9, 2008 at 8:48 AM | Comments (0)

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.

A Blagojevich spokesman said he was unaware of the development. "Haven't heard anything -- you are first to call," Lucio Guerrero said in an e-mail.

The stunning, early morning visit by authorities to the governor's North Side home came amid revelations that federal investigators had recorded the governor with the cooperation of a longtime confidant and had begun to focus on the possibility that the process of choosing a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama could be tainted by pay-to-play politics.

Blagojevich was taken into custody hours after the Tribune reported that the investigation into allegations of pay-to-play politics within his administration had been expanded to include his pending choice of a Senate replacement for Obama. The Democratic governor has said he expects to make a decision on the state's next senator in weeks.

Sources told the Tribune that investigators intensified their investigation into Blagojevich amid concerns that the process of choosing a new senator could be tainted. The actions by federal authorities came a day before Blagojevich's 52nd birthday.

The Tribune previously disclosed that federal investigators had recordings of Blagojevich. Those recordings were aided by the cooperation of longtime Blagojevich confidant and former congressional chief of staff John Wyma.

On Monday, Blagojevich said he has done nothing wrong in his stewardship of the state and challenged critics to record him because his discussions were "always lawful."

sheeesh...... ...
"

A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.

Otherwise, Blagojevich considered appointing himself. The affidavit said that as late as Nov. 3, he told his deputy governor that if "they're not going to offer me anything of value I might as well take it."

"I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain," Blagojevich allegedly said later that day, according to the affidavit, which also quoted him as saying in a remark punctuated by profanity that the seat was "a valuable thing — you just don't give it away for nothing."

The affidavit said Blagojevich also discussed getting a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions.

It said Blagojevich also talked about getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get 0,000 a year in director's fees.

He also allegedly discussed getting campaign funds for himself or possibly a post in the president's cabinet or an ambassadorship once he left the governor's office. He noted becoming a U.S. senator might remake his image for a possible presidential run in 2016, according to the affidavit. And he allegedly said a Senate seat would also provide him with corporate contacts if he needed a job and present an opportunity for his wife to work as a lobbyist.

"I want to make money," the affidavit quotes him as saying in one conversation.

The affidavit said Blagojevich expressed frustration at being "stuck" as governor and that he would have access to greater resources if he were indicted while in the U.S. Senate than while sitting as governor."

...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/blagojevich_corruption_probe

JasmineRain2008-12-09 11:53:57Yes, gotta love Illinois politics!!!!!!!!Also in Current event thread [QUOTE=6t5frlane]Also in Current event thread[/QUOTE]

And on damn near every blog and messageboard in the state of illinoisBoy, he is an idiot, knowing that anything you say, can be traced. Well Jas, maybe you guys will get a good governor to replace him. I am just hearing that they are asking him to step down.....isn't this a given? [QUOTE=lorster]Boy, he is an idiot, knowing that anything you say, can be traced. Well Jas, maybe you guys will get a good governor to replace him. I am just hearing that they are asking him to step down.....isn't this a given? [/QUOTE]

Not with Blago, unfortunately. He's an arrogant SOB. Grab a copy of the 78-page indictment if you've got a few hours.Jas, I don't remember but I think you had mentioned in an earlier post about this corrupt governor......or am I thinking the Chicago mayor...anyway....with 78 pages, they just now got enough evidence to arrest him?Sounds like he has a nasty mouth too. [QUOTE=lorster]Jas, I don't remember but I think you had mentioned in an earlier post about this corrupt governor......or am I thinking the Chicago mayor...anyway....with 78 pages, they just now got enough evidence to arrest him?[/QUOTE]

Yep, I've been griping about blago for quite some time. The allegations are shocking to damn near everyone I've talked to... we've all had our suspicions, but OMG. OMG.

Selling a senate seat?
He's out of jail already.

Unreal... if any of us had been accused of and arrested for such crimes, would we be released on our own recognizance? I've been sitting here watching this story unfold and this guy is NUTS!! It sounds like he either has some mental illness or he let a bit of power go to his head and feels that he is above the law. [QUOTE=lorster]I've been sitting here watching this story unfold and this guy is NUTS!! It sounds like he either has some mental illness or he let a bit of power go to his head and feels that he is above the law. [/QUOTE]

Hence my long-standing frustration with Springfield (capital of Illinois) and all that inhabit it. I mean come on, this didn't just pop up yesterday. Obviously a whole bunch of our elected officials knew what was going on and did nothing (if they weren't actually participating themselves). Disgusting.

Robert D. Grant, the FBI special agent in charge of the agency's Chicago office, told the same news conference that he could not say whether Illinois is the most corrupt state in the union. However, he added, "if it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor." FBI agents "were thoroughly disgusted and revolted by what they heard, and I think even the most cynical agents in our office were shocked," Grant said.

And this isn't over - not by a longshot. They're still investigating, but needed to put a stop to (and I quote) "a corruption crime spree." More heads will roll when this is all done. Boy Jaz, your guys make Kwami look like an amature. [QUOTE=Linncn]Boy Jaz, your guys make Kwami look like an amature. [QUOTE=lorster]Sounds like he has a nasty mouth too.[/QUOTE]

They all talk like that (I've heard them...). Most are smart enough not to be recorded talking like that.
Sounds like the people needs to do some political house cleaning. [QUOTE=lorster]Sounds like the people needs to do some political house cleaning.[/QUOTE]

Yep. I don't have my hopes up, though. It's a cesspool.
I understand we are now getting a new state bird: Jailbird. [QUOTE=mab52]I understand we are now getting a new state bird: Jailbird. [/QUOTE]

Yea, and our vacant senate seat was up for auction for a few hours today on eBay. Never a dull moment!!! [QUOTE=JasmineRain]

Yea, and our vacant senate seat was up for auction for a few hours today on eBay. Never a dull moment!!! I'm from IL and I DID NOT vote for him. They should take Patty (his wife) down too. She was right there at his side too. I also live close to Springfield and gov never wanted to move into the capital city into the executive mansion. He's done so much to irritate me and I hope he does get 30 years!

SO THERE!

Huffington post reported today that it was Obama chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel who blew the whistle on the governor.I think that the big question is, where the hell is Pelosi, Reed, and Justsaynoemore? We've got Charlie Rangel, William Jefferson and the Illinois Governor and not a word from the anti-corruption cops. Oh, my mistake, these are all democrat criminals. Pelosi and the rest of the dems actually tried to have the evidence against Jefferson thrown out claiming that Jeffersons congressional office is off limits to search warrants. Don't we all need one of those offices.

LEV

I am really worried for our Country, and our Nation. Examples of this type of corruption could probably be found through history, It doesn't surprise me. Greed is the driving force.

We are in a economic spiral, hang on everyone.....

I am praying things will work out and think they will.And now Jesse Jackson, Jr. Term limits NOW www.justsaynoemore.com[QUOTE=justsaynoemore]And now Jesse Jackson, Jr. Term limits NOW www.justsaynoemore.com[/QUOTE]

We already have Term limits. It's called voting

John Kass has a great article in the Trib today:

By Chicago standards, Blagojevich isn't crazy

John Kass

December 11, 2008

When it comes to Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Dead Meat), many national TV talking heads can't resist playing amateur psychiatrist.

"He's crazy," said one talking head of our governor. "A sociopath!" said another. "He should have been put in a straitjacket, not handcuffs," said a third, all of them diagnosing Blagojevich as cuckoo.

I can see how they arrived at their cockamamie theory. Anyone who read the federal complaint with all the f-bombs in there and watched Blagojevich drive to work on Wednesday morning, the TV crews following his black SUV in a low-speed chase, as if he were some angry Serbian O.J., might think he had lost his marbles.

But is Blagojevich truly cuckoo?

John Kass Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

OT - anyone wanna buy a US Senate seat? | Arthritis Information

Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody

By Chicago standards, Blagojevich isn't crazy

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